//------------------------------// // Issue 11-The More You Learn...[Part 2]:The A-Maze-ing Crossover Special // Story: I Am Not a Charlatan! I Am Mysterio, Master of the Arcane Arts! // by The Quidam //------------------------------// Ethan cautiously approached the crater, prepared to face a great number of possibilities. Considering how his so-called adventure had been going, he expected to find a massive chunk of space rock with deadly radiation, or even a crashed spaceship. Hell, he wouldn’t be surprised to come across some sort of venom symbiote, because why the hell not!? Oh, he was still surprised by what he found, but not because of its presented danger, or a complex shape. Rather, because he was almost killed by one of the last things he ever expected to come from the stars: a box… a cardboard box! “A cardboard box? I was almost killed by a cardboard box!” He gazed into the heavens, and if it weren’t for Mysterio’s helmet, the expression of ‘What the Hell, God?’ would be plain to see. “Well when you ask for hope, expect them to deliver the package promptly, I guess!?” Considering that this apparent package came with great force, and didn’t burn on re-entry, he was hesitant to touch it. So instead, he leaned in a bit closer to glance at its details, letting his suit’s HUD do more of the work at trying to make sense of it than his mind currently could. At first glance, it looked no different than any other cardboard box you would use for your daily machinations. It had the logo for some produce company, for emblazoned on its sides was “THE APPLE”, albeit upside-down. It seemed large enough to hold a person if crouching, but there was not much else to note for its surface. Yet it seemed to be emitting some form of...radiation?...presence?...He really needed to practice more with this suit’s skills because he had no idea what he was looking at other than that it was making his suit’s warnings go off! For crying out loud, it was empty and barely even cosplay prop quality! What could be so dangerous about it, other than it coming from space like a comet? Ok, fair enough! Still, the question was, what to do now? Walk away? Hardly an option considering that this was something he was meant to find. Also, as cautious as he was, he felt a compulsion to see what would happen if he were to touch it like so- He immediately jumped back the moment his gauntlet made contact with its coarse surface. For the moment he did so, it began to vibrate and emit a sound; a voice with a message!: "Hi, my name is Maze, I’m a magical cyborg ninja. I do a number of things well; Combat, Stealth, Peeping and I’m a half decent cook. If you need help and I’m available and willing, I will endeavor to arrive quickly. Though I will expect compensation; I have my own ideals and will not fight on the behalf of yours for free. I’m also not an assassin; you do your own dirty work." -DO NOT UNDERESTIMATE THE BOX!- It finished the last sentence in a much deeper voice, but he knew the vocal resonance of a woman when he heard it. At least, he thought he heard it, for it felt more as if the message was being spoken in his mind like recalling a memory, than being spoken aloud. Of course, this only proved the box was clearly magical. “A magical cyborg ninja?” sure, he could believe that. Why not have a box from outer space bring him a cyborg ninja? He waved his arms sarcastically and stated, “I suppose all I have to do is chant ‘Come forth oh mighty magical cyborg ninja’ and then this box will surely-” The box jumped and tumbled onto the floor with its opened side against the dirt, then shifted back and forth slightly. The clearly-no-longer empty box then started to rise off the ground, a pair of legs appearing from within. Finally a whole figure stood with her back to Mysterio as she tossed the box aside haphazardly. She had short, unevenly cut hair and was clad in a tight and tactical looking, though not unstylish, suit. A technical looking sheath with some kind of triggering system hung at her hip. Though, other than a what looked like a few seams and what could be data ports on her exposed skin and maybe the sword, ‘cyborg ninja’ didn’t really come to mind to look at her. She stretched and looked around, noting her currently crater bound position before finally turning to see her summoner. “Ah, there you are!” she delivered brightly and climbed out of the crater to stand before the magician. With what looked like a somewhat ornately gauntleted arm resting on her sheath, she offered the exposed right hand to him “Hiya! I’m Maisie, my friends call me Maze.” Mysterio just stood there, wrapped in his cloak like the imposing figure he played. On the surface he appeared indifferent to the new development, but inside, Ethan was dumbstruck! Sure she was dressed in something that seemed from an anime, and was the first individual he encountered that was actually shorter, maybe only 5’ 6” to his own 5’ 11’, but there was no denying it; standing before him was another human being! Maze arched an eyebrow at the unmoving Mysterio. “Were you expecting something a bit more dramatic?” Seeing the young woman staring at his lack of response, he quickly steadied a hand towards his cloak, hoping to not flub his first instance of human contact in such a long time. Now to play it like the smooth villain he pretended to be, “Hardly! Although with such a boastful proclamation, I had expected you to be taller. Still, I suppose even a Master of the Arcane such as myself cannot complain when assistance is offered! I am Mysterio, and am charmed to make your acquaintance, Miss Maze.” He finished with a dramatic flutter of his cloak, hoping he nailed the right pose as he reached her extended palm to shake it in greeting. Surely that was enough to ensure that his first impression was spectacular! “Yeah, I got that much from the outfit” Maze failed to hide her amusement as she shook his hand, “You go by that or you got a real name?” ‘Outfit?’ Ethan questioned in his head before trying to further clarify. “I suppose ‘Mysterio’ is more of a title, but that is the moniker you may refer to when addressing me. It’s how everyone of this realm knows me, and I doubt it needs changing!” “Just Mysterio then, got it. Actually I don’t use my old name anymore either, I mean I changed so much that… well, it just didn’t seem appropriate anymore y’know?” Maze delivered back as she took a more casual stance, waving off the memory of her old life. Her smile then grew a little bigger “Just don't be surprised if I start call’n you ‘Misty’.” ‘Misty?’ He hadn’t used any mist yet. Not that he would since this Maze had yet to show any threat, but the possibility she knew what he really was; well, there was one way to test her! “So long as you don’t refer to me as ‘Fishbowl’, I believe it is acceptable!” “Nah, I always liked Mysterio. Didn’t read the comics much but the show was cool. Besides, I don’t know if I’m quite as skilled enough in Spidey style banter to get away with it. I do try though.” Maze shrugged. She KNEW!! “You know about Mysterio!?” Ethan broke his lordly character a bit, which with Mysterio’s voice still projecting from his helmet made it a bit more humorous to hear. “Like for really reals? You know about the comic and animated character? Like it’s really a thing in the world, no questions whatsoever!?” “Well yeah, granted Mysterio’s lower tier on his rogue’s gallery but come on; it’s Spider-Man, probably Marvel’s most popular character… well except maybe Wolverine.” Maze answered honestly “No offense on the lower tier thing of course.” “True, I suppose the argument could be made-” He shook his head. “NOT THE POINT! You know about pop culture! So you know about our world, don’t you!?” He pointed accusingly at the ninja as if daring her to deny the claim. “Our world?-OH! Oh oh oh!” Maze realized and got excited, even bouncing a little as she brought her hands up “I get to pop your cherry! Oh I figured it might happen but so soon?! Oh you’re in for it now!” Maze laughed and dragged the costumed man to a large rock nearby and gestured to it. “You’re gonna wanna sit down for this. Oh but take your helmet off, this won’t be any fun if I can’t see your reaction.” Ethan looked to the rock, and back to Maze. As far as he knew concerning his situation, it involved a Merchant who sold him some items and was now under the watchful gaze of some headless being called The Quidam. But now that somebody else may be in the same metaphorical boat, he had no doubt her tale would make him wish for a more comfortable seat. So like an astronaut preparing to breath fresh air, he reverently removed his helmet. He placed it between himself and the girl as he simply looked her in the eye and sat down. “Very well. Let’s hear it.” “So let me guess,” Maze started, still standing with hands on hips “You were cosplaying, probably at a convention, when some creepy guy offered you the singular most Perfect little trinket to complete your ensemble?” Ethan recalled the Merchant, eagerly playing the part of creepy entrepreneur while also recalling how he bumped into The Quidam only moments before. “Was it that obvious to guess?” Maze chuckled. “No, it’s just apparently the most common story. There’s some variation but yeah, that’s the staple” Maze admitted before softening her tone “You and I are part of a group known as Displaced: Picked up from one world, changed and then dropped into another; that other being almost always some variation of Equestria... or Equis or whatever they wanna call it. Or at least so far as we know if what I was told is true. There could very well be displaced in other ‘Non-Pony’ worlds but that seems to be the running theme for now.” “Other variations of Equestria?” Ethan looked about as he thought about what he had seen and encountered so far in ‘This Equestria’. “So I am guessing you were put somewhere else then?” “Yep; some follow alternate timelines, in some the ponies are anthro, mine for example, some almost completely different, and of course some are just like the show. The variations, well... vary-” Maze rattled off before being interrupted. “Show? What show?” Ethan asked almost deaf to the rest of Maze’s words the moment he heard that particular tidbit. “This is all based on a show?” “You mean you haven’t figured it out?” Maze asked, pure amusement gracing her face “Well y’know how Mysterio is from Marvel right? Well Equestria comes from a franchise oft’ considered strictly the realm of little girls and was originally a marketing cartoon for cheap plastic toys; a little show titled ‘My Little Pony’.” “Never heard of it!” Ethan answered as he rubbed his head in dismay. “I suppose it must not exist in my world, right? Dare I ask what it is?” “Oh…” Maze’s face dropped to a contemplative pucker, she hadn’t expected him to have not even heard of it with how the media jumped all over bronies. “Well that may take a bit of explaining then. But I suppose if there are multiple Equestrias then there being multiple Earths would make sense, too...” Maze muttered the last bit as her attention grew distant. Snapping back after a moment she shook her head and continued. “Sorry! Well to summarize: My Little Pony is a show about ponies, shocking I know” Maze added playfully “They’re colorful, they can talk and they have all kinds G-Rated adventures in friendship and other such rainbow-tastic stuff. The first three iterations were about as you expect from such a show, pretty much barbie-esc entertainment. But the show’s fourth generation… let’s just say it got a lot better and a lot more popular. It’s that iteration most of the Equestrias out there seem to be based on. Now truth be told this is only my second time in another Displaced’s Equestria and only the first were I was actually summoned, but I’ll try to answer whatever questions I can.” Oh, did he have questions! How many worlds were there? How many other Displaced were out there? Why was he apparently in one that had anthros that participated in slavery and other dark details if it was all based on a kids show? Why was he thrown into this cosmic game of sorts? Why him of all people in all the universe? He had so many questions to ask her, but the first one that came out was: “What does all of this have to do with that headless being called The Quidam?” Maze just blinked a couple times and finally asked with a cocked eyebrow. “...Who?” [}0{] Had he had a nose, The Quidam would have had his tea spurt from it at the reaction of the realm’s latest guest. Instead he seemed to shake a bit more with good humor as he carefully watched how his current chosen reacted to this other displaced and her truths. “” The Quidam took the teapot in the Green Room and prepared another cup. “” As if answering to the call, he heard a crackle go off. Knowing of only one thing to be the source of the noise, he drew his attention to the crack in space. It began to widen, only a smidgen but that was still not necessarily a good thing. “” The mindscape shimmered slightly as a new presence found its way in. An older, balding man, dressed in a simple ‘business casual’ ensemble, adjusted his glasses as he took in the environment and found the headless figure standing politely with a cup of tea. "" The Quidam raised his cup in greeting. “Quidam old boy! So Zis iz vhere you’ve been hiding youself!” the bespectacled man announced with a german accent as he caught the headless one in a quick hug “Zo good to zee you again!” “" He motioned to a nearby seat at the tea table. "" “Ah yes. Normally I vouldn’t follow vone of mine so far, but zis girl she… but yes, sorry zhe intrusion Qui’ but well…” the Doktor glanced over to the room’s small fissure “Zhe door vas open as it vere.” “” The Quidam gave only the slightest indication of looking at the crack now about the size of an index finger, but decided it would be best to keep that worry at bay. Besides, a good host was always composed in front of his guests. "" He took another cup and poured it full of tea for The Doktor. “Vhy zank you, yes! Zhough I prefer ‘charges’ to ‘test subjects’ dear Qui’- I do still care for zem after all. Had I not, I vould have simply left Maze to drift in zhe voids” the Doktor said as he drank “Can you believe zhe girl made a blind jump!? And vithout being summoned! Zank chance I managed to guide her zomewhere suitable… And here I zought my broken little accidental vould be zhe one keeping me keeping me on my toes! Oh but I do so love zis kind of exciting data!” “” The Quidam then started scooping sugar cubes into his tea. “” He kept putting cube after cube of sugar into the cup. For anyone else it was worrisome, but not for The Quidam. It wasn’t until the twentieth cube he stopped for a sip. “Zat sveet tooth of yours...” the Doktor chuckled “Vhen zey do zose things yes, my unintentional zough... only recently is she finally getting involved now, and only after I introduced new variable. But enough of mine, what of zis ‘Mysterio’?!” Doktor asked excitedly “I hear you even went to ‘zhe troll’ to in ensure you got him!” “" The Quidam stopped his words, and was still in sad recollection for a good moment . "" He took a long sip from his cup that let out a loud slurp. “” “Oh don’t feel bad Qui’, ve all have our failures. Zough yes, I’ve noticed it iz getting harder to lure new charges, especially with His methods if some of my recent attempts are anyzing to go by... I zhink these humans are developing a kind of instinct about all zis… hmmm, actually zat may require further testing…” Doktor drifted off in sudden thoughts. "” The Quidam seemed proud at how how that slight swindle over the Merchant’s control of IT was a bonus to acquiring his latest charge. “Oh, zo you finally gotten it back zen… You’ve been after zat for a vile now. I do hope you know vat you’re doing zough, many vouldn’t take zhe risk.” Doktor replied a bit more seriously now. “” The Quidam waved off, not mentioning how the trade included giving that mercantile troll a Tesseract to play with. “” He seemed ambivalent of the fact Ethan had such an object in his custody, but the way he spoke of it led to the impression that it wasn’t something a mortal should possess on just a whim. "" He shrugged in dismissal. If he had a face, he would be squinting his eyes pointedly at The Doktor. "" He raised his cup toward the Doktor. " " “Or at least be interesting!” Doktor returned the toast. But as their cups clinked, the crack in space seemed to roar as the mindscape started to shake about as if undergoing an earthquake. “” The Quidam sighed as he returned his attention to the two displaced who were going to have their conversation interrupted by a most rude guest. “” “At least it’z interesting! And should give zome good data too!” Doktor added in good humor before scooting forward to watch as well. The Quidam just gave the Doktor a blank stare. Or at least as blank a stare one could give when you have no face. “Oh don’t give me zat look.” [}0{] “Me? I’m from Metal Gear, or well... sort of...” Maze answered “I was dressed as a bunch of characters, most of them cyborgs from Rising, though also a few ‘less enhanced’ humans and just ended up a simple looking yet also more complex mix. I guess that explains why I’m less… shiny and more human looking than the typical Metal Gear Cyborg. So I guess you could say I’m more from it in spirit since I’m not any established character.” “Spirit, huh? I can respect that. I mean, my original costume was inspired by The 90’s animated Spider-man. Made it myself and used whatever I could find to craft it.” Ethan gave slight smile as he recalled the homemade cosplay. “Even parts from an old gumball machine of all things. Now though,” He glanced over his current suit, wiggling his fingers as he noted all the technological odds and ends of it. “I think I’m made of some stolen tech from other characters from the comics, but still stuff Mysterio would use. Definitely more than the animated series showed off, though. So what can you do, Miss Cyborg Ninja? Any gimmicks of your own?” “Plenty, probably too many. On top of the typical perks of being a cyborg I-” Maze started only to be interrupted by the sound of “...that a fighter jet?” Ethan perked up immediately at the sound. It certainly sounded like it. Having flown on Tsavorite’s back, he knew it wasn’t a dragon making the noise. But as he turned to see the speck in the distance grow closer, he had to double take at what he was seeing. “You got any sort of telescope on you? Because I hope I am wrong.” He reached for his helmet and quickly locked it into place. His hud immediately reacted to the incoming aircraft zooming in on his HUD. All the warning signals it could have started to go off as it was clear to him what it was the moment a certain spider logo appeared in his peripheral. “It…” Maze blinked and squinted, her enhanced vision letting her see a bit more detail as it approached. “It looks like something from Power Rangers.” “Oh, it’s worse than that! This is a power ranger’s grandfather! And one that belongs to my nemesis!” It was a blocky spaceship that was mostly black, but also had yellow and red parts to it that were most notable. The yellow was mostly concentrated in a feline-like head piece while the red parts had web detailing. It was a vehicle of sentai design, and one that Ethan recognized for its notoriety: It was The Marveller; Known throughout fandom as Spider-man’s Megazord! “LEOPARDON!!” Mysterio pointed in determined outrage at the sight of the giant robot of his arch-enemy. As if calling its name was a signal, the ship began a transformation. Opening up and refolding certain compartments, it slowly became a massive bipedal behemoth of a robot made for the Amazing Webslinger! “Like from that weird Japanese Spider-Man?!” Maze asked with a wide smile, far more excited than her counterpart. “SUPAIDA-MAN!!” Mysterio raised a fist in fury as he gazed upon Leopardon in flight. “WHY MUST YOU CONTINUE TO TORTURE ME SO WITH WHATEVER FORM YOU TAKE!?” “Hey relax,” Maze said calmly “Fighting giant robots is kinda my thing.” Mysterio stopped his ranting for a moment. “Oh don’t get me wrong, I love fighting robots, too! BUT HE KNOWS WHAT HE DID!!” The grudge of Mysterio towards Spider-man’s sins would never be forgiven, Giant fighting robot or not!! The giant robot landed before them and then slowly rose… As a song began to play for all to hear? “Is it playing its theme!? Is it mocking us, or am I going mad at the sight of its awesome, yet cruelly ironic presence!?” Mysterio asked out to the heavens as if the stars had the answer. “No that’s me. Sorry, I don’t have much control over it” Maze added offhandedly with a shrug as she smiled up as the visitor “Picked it up from some sirens and now it just kind of happens.” “Oh….so it's just a thing with you?” Mysterio deflated a bit at that explanation. “I am not sure if I should feel relief or disappointment at how acceptable that answer is.” Maze and Mysterio looked up at the Sentai robot, which just stared silently back as the music continued to blare from nowhere. After a few more awkward moments the pair glanced at eachother and then back up, Maze finally yelling, “...ARE YOU GONNA DO ANY-” *CRASH* Maze’s question was immediately answered by a giant fist driving into the ground just before them, sending the two flying back. Mysterio was quick to get to his feet as he noted Maze was also quick to flip back and slide along with the momentum. “I’m no expert on Metal Gear, but I seem to recall facing giant robots being a selling point. Any tips?” “Don’t let it step on you and hit it really, really hard!” Maze responded playfully as charged sword drawn straight at the massive machine. ‘Don’t let it step on you. Of course! Why didn’t I think of that? Maybe cause all it would take is a few steps to reach me!?’ Mysterio thought sarcastically as he decided to move about the area to avoid being trampled. ‘Still, how does an under six foot fellow like myself take on an over 40 meters tall machine?’ While Mysterio was strategizing Maze reached their foe and leapt to halfway up its shin and, sword sparking, delivered a spinning slash… that stopped dead against a spider web shaped energy field. “Well this complicates things” Maze muttered before being launched like a hackey sack straight past Mysterio, tumbling and bouncing along the ground. She finally caught herself and rose, hands on her hips. Battered and bleeding but still functional, she called out “Any ideas?” “Besides not dying by trying to hug it?” Mysterio quipped. “Well, it is a larger opponent and needs keep balance and understand its reach, so...try to use that against it?” “I don’t think its reach is that much of a handicap!” Maze called as she disappeared in a flash of violet light and reappeared in front of him, blade held ready against a barrage of missiles. She cut the first wave out of the air, peppering the pair with shrapnel but gladly taking the lesser injuries over explosives “I’d talk fast if I were you!” “Ok, give me two seconds!!” He started speeding through his mind for everything Leopardon could do. It had a sword finisher, its head crest could be launched like a boomerang- “DODGE!” Maze yelled stopping the magician from his thoughts as that very crest flew straight at them, forcing them apart as they jumped out of it’s path. Maze was the first to stand ready only to see a massive, detached fist literally rocketing at her, it’s owner running right after it. “THAT IS SO COO-!” was all she managed before it struck. It had a rocket punch-! And seeing how the robot’s wrist was open after launching it gave him an idea. “That’s it! We need him to use the rocket punch again!” Unfortunately, he had no idea if Maze could hear him finding herself now quite some distance away, nor did he have the time to reach her to inform her as Leopardon was just a few steps from crushing him. ‘No time to inform the lead actress of the script’s revisions! Instead, it’s up to the a method actor to direct the improvisation and hope she can follow his lead well enough!’ So the first step of his plan went into action: releasing a heavy mist. His suit let out great clouds of smoke normally used to release hallucinogens, but this time to simply hide himself from plain view. ‘Hallucinations won’t work on a machine! But getting it to stop seeing me instead of seeing something else is the point in this case!’ The fog grew thick enough to come up to Leopardon’s shins; not enough to even reach it’s torso, but more than enough to hide Mysterio from the naked eye. ‘Undoubtedly as a robot it has to have other ways of targeting an enemy. Maybe heat seeking, or bio-rhythm scanners.’ Mysterio reached into his sleeves and pulled out a handful of holo-cubes and started haphazardly through them as he ran through the fog. ‘Fortunately, my little toys are more than capable of mimicking such things since they were made to fool the ‘Friendly Neighborhood Webslinger’ after all!’ Leopardon seemed to be searching the fog, unsure of its current target’s whereabouts. It sensed multiple moving targets despite the logic that there was only one left to face. It’s confusion was the opportune moment Mysterio was looking for! ‘So while it's distracted, and thinking I am in the fog,’ He hurried to the leg. ‘I’ll be praying that Mysterio’s magnetic boots are not bullshit and will help me get to the final stage of the plan!’ The wayward fist finally returned as the automaton searched, jostling Maze off from its surface as it reconnected. She met the ground hard but thankfully hidden by the fog. Definitely worse for wear she groggily pushed herself up as best she could, blood flowing freely from her nose, mouth and several new gashes across her form. “I don’t feel so good…” she groaned as she hit her enhanced vision, trying to find her summoner through the fog. At first she thought she saw him, but but then caught multiples of him running about the fog. She stood holding a limp arm and finally spotted one a bit different than the others, less hollow… walking vertically up Leopardon’s leg. “You look like you are having a bad day!” One of the nearby Mysterio copies spoke up to her. “Not as easy as they make it look in the games, I suppose?” Spoke another running by Maze. “Then again, I am still impressed you took a hit like that and lived!” A third complimented. “Well done!” A fourth clapped as it stopped in front of her. “Yeah yeah, cute trick” Maze quipped with a smirk, though not failing to notice the holograms’ unique features “Now what you got planned?” “Well, I got good news and bad news!” The currently clapping hologram stopped as it pointed towards the real Mysterio currently making its way up Leopardon’s back. “Considering your condition, which would you rather hear first?” “Let me guess; you want it to punch me again” Maze deadpanned; Good news bad news? Yeah, she knew that kind of plan all too well “Right?” “Well, one of us is a rather squishy illusionist, while the other is a durable cyborg.” Mysterio’s hologram shrugged. “Also, I am already nearly in position and ready to-” “Yeah yeah, whatever it is just hold on. He ain’t gonna be holding still...” Maze interrupted and popped her shoulder back in with a painful cringe “Now don’t blink! You’re not the only one who can put on a show!” Showing an ability far greater than her injured state would suggest, Maze vaulted from smoke at the mech again, immediately grabbing it’s attention. The cyborg landed deftly on its attempted kick and ran straight up to its face, dragging her sword all the way along her electric wake. The damage was minimal thanks to the energy field, but that wasn’t the point. Bracing on it’s face she sprung off, provoking another barrage of missiles. Missiles quickly cut and even ridden higher. “THAT ALL YOU GOT YOU CHEAP MEGAZORD KNOCK OFF!?” And then came the raised fist, firing once again only this time to have its target disappear in a quick flash of violet light. “He’s all yours Gumball!” she called as she reappeared and began to fall. ‘Gumball!? ...Well, it’s certainly better than ‘Fishbowl’’ Ethan thought as he hung on for dear life. The upside was that Mysterio’s magnetic boots worked wonderfully on the giant robot’s metal body. The downside was that he had to keep moving or else risk falling off to his doom! Currently he was trying to get over the robot’s shoulder and up to the arm. Having Leopardon focus on Maze was a fine part of the plan, but he forgot to include the factoid that he was essentially trying to jog on a dancing skyscraper with how it tried to get her. ‘Still, now’s my chance!’ Finally getting on top, Mysterio stood tall before reaching into his suit for the next key item for his performance. He held a few more holo-cubes the size of oranges instead of the usual dice ones he employed. “Oh Leopardon, you are magnificent, but unfortunately, I’m going to have to do to you what Quesada did to Spider-man! Break up one of your wondrous components and leave you a shattered mess!” Before Leopardon could lose focus on Maze, Mysterio scurried up the arm until he was at the closest distance he could be to toss them. The cubes flew true and sailed through the air, shifting into one last hologram each: Giant green spiders that had the Mark of Mysterio on their backs like a widow’s mark. “Taste my irony, SUPAIDA-MAN!” Mysterio laughed as he flipped two birds at the robot’s face. It had turned its attention towards him at the sight of the big bugs crawling into its wrist port, but was too late to stop it from happening. The spiders crawled inside and within a minute or two would the fireworks go off. “I’d ‘stick around’, but I’m afraid of catching a horrible case of ‘explosions’! I hear it's spreading this time of the year!” Mysterio then deactivated his magnetic boots and took off in a great leap away from the appendage. Leopardon reached out with his other mighty hand for him, but found its attempt gravely interrupted by the great explosions going off in its open wrists. They started with a few booming bursts of glimmering heat, but soon a chain reaction started up that spread from the wrist, and up to the elbow. What was once a mighty limb of possible alien design and ingenuity, was now a great scattered throng of burnt casing shards, interior motor fragments, and chunks of other scorched metal. Among this collection of falling debris was Ethan trying his damndest to jump from piece to piece in hopes of getting to the ground safely before the explosions reached reached him as well! “Shoot! Shoot! Shoot! Shoot Shoot!” His frantically muttered as he used his boots to their fullest potential. ‘I am a magician, not a ‘flipping’ acrobat!’ It certainly wasn’t easy trying to avoid the robotic scrap avalanche, especially since under the costume, he was only playing a super sorcerer. Sure Mysterio’s gimmicks made this parkour possible, but seeing how the residual heat and occasional scrape still touched him, he felt as each jump was only a second away from avoiding being impaled, fried, or splattered. ‘Can’t do this all day!’ He was gasping for air at this point, as he felt sweat drip throughout his face. There was a last minute gambit he could try, but Ethan was unsure if it would work. Still it was better than nothing, so he gripped his cloak as if it was going to spread wings. ‘So my only hope is that Mysterio picked up flying or else I’m going to find myself arguing against an angel for a second chance in the next act!’ With that desperate detail in mind, Mysterio dove towards the ground, hoping to be able to make the distance and stick the landing. ‘C’mon! I know he’s not a Marvel, but please let me glide away like Batman!’ Amazingly it worked! Mysterio was gliding away to safety from the reach of the Robot and its deadly case of ‘explosions’! He was descending from the night sky with the grace and majesty of a owl about to snatch a mouse. ‘Marvelous! Now how do I get down-’ “OH SHIT!” He landed the hard way onto the ground, tumbling like skipping ball, getting tangled up in his cape! Thankfully his descent was relatively slow to avoid serious injury. However, feeling the desert landscape as dusty and rocky slammed into him was no way to conclude such an outstanding feat. When he finally stopped rolling he felt so beaten up that all could do was mutter out a weak, “Ta-daaahhh...ugh!” Slowly, with all the dignity of crash test dummy, he pushed himself up and got back to his feet. “Uggh, take that, Leopardon! I the Great Mysterio just blew up your fricking arm! And I am not even a megazord or whatever!” He was too damn tired to keep up the full Mysterio persona. Besides, seeing his accomplishment, he doubted the robot would care about his less gracious manner of speech. Leopardon looked like it had seen better days, scuffed up and scratched sporadically throughout its body. Yet the most glaring flaw in its appearance was the gapingly broken off segment that remained of its arm. The rest was probably now the debris surrounding its feet. The rocket punch it unleashed, with nowhere to dock, came crashing down like a meteor next to it. The robot had no way of emoting with the way its face was designed, but seeing as how it was lifting its other fist in Mysterio’s direction, it could probably be best assumed to be most displeased with what happened to it. “Go ahead! Do it! I’ll just blow up your other arm, too!” Mysterio shouted as he reached for more explosive holo-cubes. Leopardon however didn’t seem to be willing to go for the temptation; Instead it reached for its other hand and started ascending up into the air. Before Mysterio could do anything to stop it, even assuming he could, it had had become little more than speck and flew far away into the night! “Yeah! You run away! Smartest thing you ever did! And I’m including the time you faced The Thing!” Mysterio shouted after the long gone Leopardon. He huffed a bit more in frustration, before finally feeling the need to sit down and take off his helmet, for he desperately needed some fresh air after that whole mess! When the dome came off a sweaty and out of breath Ethan could only ask. “Did all that -huff- really just happen?” “No, it’s just a dream!” He heard a woman shout “This is all a reflection of your fear of squirrels.” Ethan groaned as he got back to his feet, picking up his helmet as he turned to walk to in the direction of the voice. It was a bit of a distance, made more wearisome by the aches and bruises he was feeling, but he found the source alright. “You know, if this were a dream, I suppose that makes you the pretty damsel I was supposed to rescue from the giant behemoth’s clutches. Way to ruin the scene, Maisie!” He would laugh, but considering he was barely able to stand he decided to just sit down indian style in speaking distance from the cyborg. He found his new compatriot laying flat on her back, limbs spread wide. She glanced over to him, a bit too damaged to really put forth more effort than that. Her systems were already stopping her bleeding and beginning repairs but that last little burst took a good chunk of her reserves. Still hurt too. “In my defense; the giant robots back home don’t have energy shields, not non-magical ones at least” she delivered first with a tired smile “And I’m no damsel.” “Nope, you are not!” He agreed with a grin. He then broke into a bit of a posher accent as he hammily declared. “Damsels are boring to star with; Only good for being eye catching and noisy. A magnificent actor such as I needs the best co-stars to keep the show going on! And you fit the bill!” He leant over with a hand held out. “So I may be new at this whole ‘Displaced’ business. I may be...very uncomfortable with the ideas it brings to mind...But you know, maybe it wouldn’t be so bad if it brings people like you and me together. So, let’s try this again before another giant robot comes and makes trouble for for us: Hello, Maze was it? It’s nice to meet you. Need a hand up?” “Thanks” Maze returned with a bit of humor as she took the hand and started to raise. The magician grunted and had to re-brace and use both hands; Maze was a lot heavier than she looked “And yeah, just Maze, short for Maisie. Sorry Voltron got away, you’ll probably have to deal with that again now.” Now that was thought that could sour Ethan’s attempt at a good mood! Still, he kept up a brave face as he focused more on trying to help his new friend to her feet. “Oh don’t...err!...fret about it! That thing’s bound to be….cowering away for a good long while!” She must have been carrying some heavy equipment on her or something! Maybe he was just that exhausted? “Besides! Errgh! Mysterio shouldn’t fret when Spider-man gets away, so why…-huff-...should I..err...when I scare his...giant robot into running?!” Finally, he got Maze standing, but at the cost of knocking himself on his back! “Whew! Like I said, why should I worry when I clearly showed I can take him just fine!” He tried to play it cool as if he totally meant to do that, but how could one play off landing on their ass when trying to do the gentlemanly thing? “Nothing to worry about!” Maze chuckled as he looked up at her, trying to play it off. She reached down and hefted him straight up with ease, now that she was standing herself. “Sorry ‘bout that. All them shiny inside bits can tend to make us cyborgs pretty heavy, y’know?” she waved off the incident and started looking around “So… Now what?” That was a very good question. What did one do after facing off against a giant robot? It wasn’t like one just went back home and ate dinner like nothing hap...pend-! “Oh crap! I left them back there after having a fit!” Ethan smacked his forehead as he realized he originally walked out to get some time to himself to cool off! Now that this whole incident with Leopardon occurred, and considering the noise it must of made, “They gotta be freaking out about the noise, if not the sight of the ‘Giant Golem’ in the distance!” He looked about, trying to find Clutter Coulee. He was completely turned around with all the fighting and walking he did tonight. Not to mention that he had very little light to see the distance he must be from the scrapyard. “Hey Maze, do you have a flashlight, or something to see...What am I saying? You’re a cyborg! Do you have night vision goggles?” “Googles? No sorry, I have enhanced vision but all my systems are integrated” Maze answered “What’cha look’n for?” “It’s a junkyard known as Clutter Coulee. I left a group of companions there after...Well, I was upset at something and came out here originally to cool my head. Anyways, if you can help me get there and make sure everyone’s alright, it's another favor I’ll owe you!” He held out his helmet “I’d do it myself, but my equipment isn’t as long ranged as your stuff probably is, and I’m still trying to figure out what most of my readers even are trying to label.” “You can see through smoke but not in the dark,” Maze quipped as she began to search. Her HUD soon outlined a series of jagged structures piled high that couldn’t be much else other than a junkyard. “Come on, I’m pretty sure I found it...” She started hobbling towards it with a notable limp and an arm held close, the walk somewhat quiet at first. She figured she’d get a concern out of the way before they met whoever his friends were. “So you want them to know about all this Displaced stuff? I was told some prefer to keep it to themselves.” “I would rather you didn’t!” Ethan immediately answered. Trying to hide his abruptness, he then went on to say. “I don’t think it would be a good idea to let them know about this ‘Displaced’ business, or anything about our world. Don’t want to break the ‘World Order’, ‘Prime Directive’, or whatever you want to call it! As far as they know, I am Mysterio, a master sorcerer, from a distant land who ended up here because of a magical mishap.” He then pondered aloud. “Come to think about it, I think I’ve only told Tsavorite that much. I still need to let the others know about that!” “Well in that case I’ll try this now,” Maze stated before another cardboard box materialized, top open. A transparent screen suddenly projected in-front of her, a small red highlighted ‘calling’ message in the middle. A face suddenly appeared on the screen “Hey it worked!” “MAZE!” yelled a flustered aquamarine unicorn “The hell did you go?!” “Sorry! I guess this stuff just happens. How long’s it been?” Maze apologized as the pony just sighed. “About an hour” her friend answered before asking the obvious “And how are you already hurt?!” “Oh relax, I’m fine. And there’s only a little time difference, so no worries!” Maze brightened “I’ll be back before ya know it so just tell everyone to chill out.” “Fine. I’ll let the others know, just… be careful” she replied, hand to her temple. “I always am!” The screen disappeared as the pony rolled her eyes with a scoff and she turned back to Mysterio “Sorry, last time I jumped I ended up gone for four months when I thought it’d only be a week. So yeah, another thing you’ll wanna watch out for out there.” “I’ll make a note of that. Although, forgive me for finding that another thing to worry about.” Ethan said as calmly as he could muster. “So I see you made some friends with the locals. Any tips on how to properly introduce oneself to the Pony population? Seems every type of person here has some bone to pick with me for one reason or another.” Considering his track record of how he encountered this realm's inhabitants, that was putting it a bit lightly. Maze however, just started laughing. “Oh you’re asking the wrong girl Gumball! Until recently I was a wanted criminal and feared as 'The Bloodletter' ...actually most still think that” Maze explained, noting the questioning look after “...long story.” “How long are we talking?” “Long enough” was all she said, her expression growing a bit more somber. Her attention soon focused on what looked like a pair of taller figures heading to meet them “Well it seems our bit of fun gained someone’s attention. So what do you want to tell them? Another human, or mostly human, suddenly here might raise questions… assuming there aren’t others here that is.” “There aren’t. As far as I can tell, you and I are the only beings in this entire world who have five fingered hands and call themselves members of the ‘Hyooman’ race.” he gave finger quotes before placing his helmet back on his head. “So, here’s the thing. I mentioned before they think I am a powerful sorcerer and would like them to keep that opinion going. Think you can play along with my charade, following my lead? As a favor from one displaced to another?” “What like a demon summon or something? I really don’t think it’ll be hard for anyone to figure out we’re the same species but sure, why not?” Maze shrugged. “Good. Then let us begin our interactions with my fair subjects!” Mysterio dramatically proclaimed as he waved to the two familiar figures heading their way “Good evening ladies! It seems as though I found the perfect method of venting out my frustration. Do forgive us for the noise! I had hoped to not disrupt your evening more than I already have!” Maze’s eye’s widened slightly at the sight of them, or rather at the pony of the pair. It was Trixie, not her Trixie of course; her Trixie didn’t tower half a foot taller than her, but she hadn’t really expected to run into another of her so soon. “Holy hell, you’re ponies are Amazons…” She quietly muttered sideways to the illusionist. “Really?” Mysterio whispered back without motioning his head, his helmet hiding his look of surprise at the tidbit “They seem to be of normal size to me.” “Hmmm and here I was getting used to being tall...” the cyborg trailed off. The dragoness and unicorn reached Mysterio and Maze at last, most happy to see that their chosen leader was ok. “Thank goodness you’re alright!” The dragoness exclaimed as she reached them first. “We tried to get here as soon as we could, Lord Mysterio. I am deeply sorry for not being with you when that Great Golem appeared. Please punish me as you deem just!” She lowered her head in a solemn bow, as if expecting to be struck for her foolish mistake. “I wouldn’t go that far Tsavorite!” Mysterio quickly raised his hands to placate her. “I was the one who wandered alone to calm my frustration. That is on me, not any of you! Besides, it was quite fortunate that as usual, I was prepared if such an occasion, as unexpected it could be, would happen! So I would like to reassure you that I was in no real danger as Miss Maze here could validate.” The two turned their attention to the other person in front of them and simultaneously widened their eyes at her. “Who is she!?” Trixie asked sharply as she glanced about Maze. The Unicorn noticed immediately the similarities with her Master’s unarmored form, and internally concluded her to possibly be a female ‘hyooman’! Already that made her a being to be weary of in her struggles for her master’s attention and it was already bad enough she had Tsavorite to compete with! “She’s not like anything Trixie’s ever seen before, except you, Master Mysterio!” “Indeed! I would even say she looks a bit similar to you, except for some aesthetic differences. Is she a member of your species?” Tsavorite asked, unsure if she would like the answer either. “Hardly!” Mysterio proclaimed, ignorant about the true reason why his subjects were hesitant about Maze possibly being a human female. “She is my summon! A demon from another plane of existence capable of taking down multitudes of golems such as that one and shrugging off their pitiful attempts at damaging her! The reason she appears like a female of my kind is because her true form is much more terrifying and would be too great of a distraction for our fight.” Mysterio felt proud at how quickly he thought up that load of baloney. It at the very least seemed to placate both Tsavorite and Trixie’s worries. Though he wasn’t nearly as proud as Maze was with the wicked thought he’d given her. A devilish smirk graced her lips and she waited as the unimpressed unicorn looked her over her injured form. “Demon? Hmph! She hardly looks-” was all she managed before letting out a sharp shriek when Maze suddenly snarled at her, her skin all at once flashing to a fiery crimson with a burst of red electricity. The cyborg even summoned a pair of her mechanical tentacles, also camouflaged, to add to the mix. Maze chuckled darkly as she straightened; Glowing gold eyes stared out from under electric blue locks… she even managed to have her octocamo form subtle horns and pointed ears. “Hardly looks what?” A flanged voice finished for the mare. Trixie blanched as she tried to maintain a brave face despite how badly her hooves were shaking. Even in her overalls she could feel her knees buckling together. “Umm! Trixie deeply apologizes for whatever she was going to say about her master’s summon!” “Indeed! Truly a fearsome creature you can control!” Tsavorite nodded a bit as she was more impressed with Mysterio’s skill level in magic if he was able to have a demon like this in his command. Mysterio tried to hide his shivers at that shocking transformation with a nonchalant shrug. “I wouldn’t necessarily say control. Rather employ, as I do with each of you. Only her contract is much stricter in order to keep her from...going rampant! Besides, I still owe her payment for her services. One does not merely bring forth forces from another dimension and expect them to do as they are told for free after all!” He nodded solemnly at that information, to which the two couldn’t disprove the logic. It seemed to make sense. “Trixie supposes that is true.” Trixie hoped that this would be magic she would eventually learn. The payment portion she could deal with later, but knowing she could summon something like this Maze would give her an edge in so many situations! “It does seem fair.” the dragoness agreed. It was understandable to her how Mysterio must be using some form of powerful magic to keep her in check. Perhaps it had to do with the matter of payment. “So what manner of payment do you have to present for this Maze’s service, my lord?” “Oh I don’t know…” Maze sang, maybe having a bit too much fun with the act “Dragon souls are fairly valuable… Or I could alway use a fresh source of pony magic…” The woman smiled wickedly at the pair, making sure to show off those canines. Yeah, she was definitely having too much fun. The two paled at those particular forms of payment. Thankfully Mysterio interjected with a loud and dramatic sigh. “Really Maze! First you jokingly ask for my firstborn when we met, and now the souls of my first subordinate and apprentice! Is there no way to satisfy your rapacious nature that we can all agree on? For old time’s sake?” Maze leaned forward and mock whispered to the girls. “I didn’t ask for his first born, honestly I wasn’t sure if he’d even ever get laid” She winked at the scandalized expressions of the unicorn and dragoness. “Besides, what would I do with it? Eat it? Raise it? The hell with that!” Mysterio said no words, but his crossed arms conveyed his disapproval at that claim of his ‘game’. “In any case, I think we should best be on our way. We can discuss proper payment later, Maze. Assuming you would like to stick around a bit longer, I suggest you maintain a more conservative form before we enter Clutter Coulee. I myself am but a guest there, and it would be bad manners to have you show up...in such a provocative state. I doubt our host Bo would appreciate you scaring her young sister.” “Fffiiiine” Maze bemoaned, turning back to normal as the metal tendrils dispersed in a flurry of particles. She was really starting to like the whole demon look “I’ll probably just have to do it again though, if they’re anything like this one.” Trixie gave a worried glance towards her magical teacher, but only received a shrug in return. “Fair enough. But let it not be said that I, Mysterio, was so rude a guest that he could not even have his summons show a little decorum.” He then addressed his subjects. “Now then, ladies, shall we get going and assure Miss Bo that all is well and that I even have found a wonderful collection of scraps for her premises to collect? Who knows what she can do with that pile that golem so carelessly left behind!” “I am sure she shall be most impressed with them, master!” Tsavorite concurred. “Such a golem of that size and might will surely have left behind considerable fragments that she could have forged into a multitude of things!” ‘Or it could be just set aside for you to feast on, and that you just don’t want to ask! Admit it you insatiable dragon!’ Trixie thought with a eyebrow raised as she noticed her draconic compatriot seemed all too eager at the prospect of this golem leaving behind scraps. “Well this may be your show” Maze interjected “But I suggest we move it along to proper lighting… or at least catering.” “Indeed, that would be best! A meal would be suitable for our discussions for your services. Of course, that is assuming you are willing to partake in our hosts’ cooking.” Mysterio motioned for everyone to follow his lead to Clutter Coulee. “So how about it Maze? Care to stick around a bit longer? Bo makes one ‘Hell’ of a bowl of chili!” “...With meat?” “With meat.” Mysterio nodded. “Then hell yeah,” Maze smiled and actually started toward the yard before the rest, quiet grumbling barely heard “So tired of all this veggie pony food…” Tsavorite looked pleased at the thought of the meal, while Trixie appeared a bit disgusted at the prospect of another carnivore and their ‘meat fixation’. She’d stick with the veggies, thank you very much! “So let’s get going before we have to face another nuisance to our evening plans!” [}0{] Back at Clutter Coulee, Bo and Norah were doing their part to keep themselves occupied. After Tsavorite and Trixie left to help Mysterio when that massive golem came flying over the junkyard the two of them stayed behind. Well rather, Bo stayed behind with the intent to ensure Norah wouldn’t run off into the ensuing battle, despite her protests of being able to take it on as ‘The Greatest Diamond boom expert’ since the last clash. Bo didn’t even try to humor her insistence that she could blow a hole in it’s ugly face parts with stuff from her ‘special toy chest’. “How much longer do I gotta do this, sis?!” Norah whined, stirring the large pot of tonight’s dinner. Chili again, but this was made fresh as could be since Bo forced her to take her time with every step of its preparation. “Until I can smells it being ready to serve. Remember, you burns it Norah and everyone’s gonna knows it was your faults for not watching it!” Bo yelled back at her sister from her perch. She was up on one of the shack roofs, using a pair of binoculars to look out for the others while using her other sense to keep watch of her sister’s progress. She had a keen nose for the food, and sharp ears for the pup. “Besides, I can sees them coming so it won’t be much longer!” “So the fight’s over alreadies!? But I was gonna break out my shiniest toys for thats kitty-faced golem!” Norah complained, greatly disappointed. The idea she missed it, and had no excuse to bring out her best stuff was enough to droop her ears, until she noticed her Big Sis’ pointed glare as she set her binoculars down. “And just where was you keeping these ‘toys’ of yours?” “Nowheres!” “Norah!” Bo had a warning tone in her voice, to which the young pup finally answered with a hint of skittishness. “Well, nowheres important! Just in the shed near my cookie stash!” Norah tried to grin as innocently as she could. Bo however was not pleased at that news “What!?” But before she could address the issue further, her ears perked up at the sound of footsteps drawing closer. Turning her attention back into the field, she saw the group she hoped return, however with one more to their number. She caught sight of something helping Mysterio out, but was unable to tell what it was from the distance. Now that it was but a few meters away from the gates, it appeared to be a female of whatever the heck Mysterio was….’Hyoomans’! A “Hyooman’ female! “Ok Norah, that pot is cooked enough. Set the table for six!” “Six?” Norah asked as she started to count on her paws. Seeing her sister try to solve the puzzle, Bo quickly gave the reason. “Looks like Mysterio’s broughts himself another guest! And a weird one like him!” “Really? Does it have ears on the sides of its head and hardly any fur, too!?” She asked in excited curiosity. “Yep, and I thinks it’s a girl likes your age since it's so short!” Norah seemed most excited at this news! It had been a long time since she met a pup around her age, albeit this would be a human pup. It was the chance to make such a new friend that she hurried to set up the table as quickly, yet neatly as she could! Bo, however kept a close eye on the gate. Sure, she was starting to trust Mysterio and had forgiven him for his earlier mishap with the contract earlier in the day, but was still suspicious of the new company he kept. She seemed to be smaller than the others, but that sword was definitely no ceremonial piece. True that if it came to a fight she didn’t doubt her own skills to take her on and get her to work for any trouble caused, but again her main weakness that prevented her from using her all was currently humming songs while setting the table. So she would play ‘good host’ as Mysterio would say, but be ready to break out her ‘special technique’ the moment the short hyooman so much as tapped her hilt. “We’re back, Bo! And we come back with excellent news of victoriousness!” Mysterio proclaimed the moment he stepped through the entrance of Clutter Coulee. He spread his cape dramatically as it fluttered in the wind. Trixie and Maze turned to their dragoness compatriot to see she was in fact providing a soft breeze with her wings. She stopped when she noticed their stares, and muttered a quick, “Apologies!” “Oh no judgements here; I wish my friends would help more in my attempts to be cool” Maze chuckled “They usually just give me crap for trying.” “Yes, VICTORY!” Mysterio went on without faltering. “For you see, one of my greatest enemies sent for a great golem to attack me while I was most vulnerable. As I am currently before you, unharmed and still standing, I assure you that it was no trouble at all to drive away.” “No trouble, huh? Then what’s with the states of yous and your new friend there?” Bo wisecracked at how dirty and hurt he and this new companion of his looked. “I seems to recalls hows y’all gots chased and struck about from that big things rampage through the desert.” “...You saw that?” Mysterio deflated; his hopes for giving his confidantes a tale of his awesome feats against Leopardon were a bit tarnished. “Yep! It was awesome, although Bo saw mosts of its from the Binoculars!” Norah remarked as she skipped to the rest of them. “That part where you crashed into the ground was the funniest!” “It was pretty funny!” Bo smiled. -snnrkk!- Mysterio turned to find the other three ladies were also holding in their laughter. Apparently they too didn’t miss his landing. “Oh come on!” “Hey you got off lucky, it never even hit you” Maze countered. That drew Bo’s attention back onto this new face. “Don’t thinks I gots your name, little one.” She leant down, to meet eye level with Maze. “I saw whats you could do out there. Granted, I thoughts you were another of this magic fellow’s tricks, but seeings you looks a bit older in the face, and smell like metal, I get the feeling you are not just some female ‘hyooman’ like he would have us believe.” “Perceptive, this one” Maze commented. “Very astute observations, Bo.” Mysterio sighed as he composed himself from his earlier embarrassment. He gestured to Maze as he began introductions. “This is Maze, a summon in my employ who was a great help in defeating that mighty creation known as Leopardon. Maze, This is Bo, the proprietor of Clutter Coulee and her younger sibling, Norah. We have a working relationship thanks to recent events.” “Nice to meets you.” Bo held a paw out, to shake. “Back at ya” the cyborg returned “Now what’s this I’m told about chili?” “That it’s flippin’ delicious!” Norah pounced over to her sister’s shoulder and perched. “Cause I mades it! So it’s gotta be great!” “Better than mine?” Bo smirked, as her serious mode disappeared at her sister’s enthusiasm. “Wellllll…..I wouldn’t says that!” Norah decided to answer truthfully. “But if miss Mazey-lady likes it, then it’s gotta be one of the bestest evah!!” “Well then I can’t wait to find out!” Maze happily replied to pup. She however grabbed Mysterio to hang back as the rest made their way to the table, asking quietly “I smell like metal?” “They’re scrapyard dogs that know their metal purities and minerals like art appraisers. They can probably smell your cybernetics and think you’re carrying something high end. Plus with Bo…” He gave a discreet nod to her as she was preoccupied with her excited sister. “I have yet to know everything she’s capable of. So she’s probably has a secret or two that makes metal easy for her to locate and craft with.” Even with the explanation Maze still stood a bit confused as Mysterio moved to join the others. She lifted her new arm and gave a tentative sniff, then just shrugged and joined them as well. Soon as Maze sat down, everyone began to partake in the meal in their own way. From Trixie trying her best to maintain dignity by using her magic to control her spoon as she was taught, to Norah just digging into her bowl like the pup she was. Even Ethan had taken off his helmet and ate diligently and still talked lordly despite getting meat stains on his face. It wasn’t long until the conversations started and soon everyone was actively being amicable in some form or other. Within an hour it could be cemented that everyone at the table had some form of camaraderie with one another. “So is Maze-lady like Boss Mysterio’s little sis?” Norah asked as the conversations opened a new topic. “Because you both seems similars with your ears and furs, but different because they’re different, too!” “Little sis?” Maze giggled “No, we’re not related. I’m also pretty sure I’m the oldest one here too.” “How much older? Cause Mysterio’s twice as olds as me, and he’s younger than all the ladies heres!” Norah asked, not noticing how said ladies were now finding their empty bowls especially interesting. “Well, technically speaking, I’m over twelve hundred years old,” Maze said causally “...Technically.” “Wow, that’s stupendously old!” Norah exclaimed with wide eyes. “So do all humans live that long? Are you older than dragons then? Do all females have hairs like yous? Do they all end up as short as you are? Do they-” “Oh dear, she has started to give you the marathon, too.” Ethan grinned as he saw Norah keep asking question after question at their new female guest. “Best start answering as many as quickly as you can, because she’s not going to stop until you start talking back!” “No, typically humans don’t live nearly that long… but then I’m not entirely human” Maze began quickly “Human hair tends to come in as many styles as ponies, if not as many colors and I’m actually a little above the average height. Now, does anyone else want a turn?” Norah still had plenty of unanswered questions, but a serious look from her big sister and her instruction of “Don’t be rude, Norah.” made her nod her head that it was no longer her turn to talk. “So, Trixie wonders if you are proficient with any sort of magic?” Trixie asked first. ‘If not then at least that’s one advantage in Trixie’s favor!’ “A little bit” Maze smirked and actually did one of Trixie’s, or at least one of her Trixie’s signature magical flourishes that she kept to herself; sparkly streams and everything. “How’d you do that!?” Trixie slammed her hands to the table in a gobsmacked expression recognizing its similarities to her own. “How indeed?” Maze just smiled back and winked at the pony mage as she took a drink. “So you can do magic as well as fight victoriously by Lord Mysterio’s side.” Tsavorite remarked as she noticed Trixie’s reaction. The idea of a greater vassal than her, made her appetite return, but alas, no more meat was to be found in her bowl. So she started to bite into it instead. “-Chomp- Apologies, Miss Bo. As I was saying, Lady Maze, do you believe you’ll be staying long in Master’s service? -Crunch- -Crunch- He did mention a matter of payment you have yet to fully settle for your services so far.” Bo sighed at her friend’s apparent disregard for not eating more than what was served. ‘This is why she gets the metal bowls. At least she left the silverware alone!’ “No I, uh… won’t be staying long” Maze arched an eyebrow. She knew dragons could eat gems and other minerals, but they didn’t usually eat the dish with it. She was an odd one “And we still have to discuss payment. But that can wait till we’re done...” [}0{] It wasn’t unitl later in the evening that Ethan found himself able to be alone with Maze once more. Bo and Norah had gone to sleep, Trixie and Tsavorite had gone to their own ways as well, but not without giving their own suspicious glances at Mysterio’s ‘Newest servant’. Still, ‘Mysterio’ made absolutely sure that the two of them would be alone enough for their continued discussions about ‘Displaced’ matters. “Thank you again for playing your part tonight, Maze. I know it probably wasn’t easy. Sorry for anything unseemly I may have done or made you feel.” Ethan started as he kept pace alongside his fellow displaced. “Aw forget it, it was actually kind... of fun…” Maze started before lagging behind at the particular sight of the magician’s dragon subordinate indulging herself on another pile of scrap a few rows down “...So she is a glutton.” “Hmm…? Oh, Tsavorite! I suppose she is. Granted when I first met her, she was starving to death because some bastard drake stole her hoard. That was quite the adventure, let me tell you...” He noticed Maze seemed to be a bit engrossed with watching his draconic subordinate enjoy her midnight snack of broken down metal. “Is something the matter? Because I’m starting to worry about my main servant bursting into flames with how hard you're staring at her, and yes, I know she’s a dragon!” “I hope you know what you’re doing with that one” Maze commented,still observing the dragon woman “Now Tsav seems like a nice girl and maybe they’re different here than my world, but gluttons aren’t like other dragons… Greed, Lust, Sloth, and the rest? They’re just desires and compulsions; they can be tempered, controlled and even satisfied. But hunger...” Maze looked back to him, a notable concern clear in her eyes. “Hunger is a NEED. One that, barring the extraordinary, typically only ends at death. Normal dragons can be destructive but even they eventually stop. The gluttons though? They just consume. It may be callous but I lose little sleep knowing the gluttons of my world are gone and their secrets with them…” Maze trailed off, watching Tsavorite again as she finished her meal and wandered off. “So yeah, I hope you know what you’re doing.” Ethan considered her words quite carefully. “Believe me, I hope I know what I’m doing, too. There are times when I say that to myself every day since I’ve gotten here. So anything else you can give me as advice?” “Well you could be mindful of similar changelings, some in my world delved into those arts too” Maze said, her gaze distant in an unpleasant memory before snapping back “But if you’re talking general displaced stuff… well, I could give you the ‘primer’ I originally got but that would probably make things worse.” ‘Changelings? Primer? Worse?!’ Ethan was tempted to ask, but he’d rather get some actual sleep tonight, so he decided to politely decline. “Probably best that I’d just stick with what I have then. Who knows if the rules of this world are even the same? For all I know, there aren’t even these ‘changelings’ to be found here.” “You want the show at least?” Maze offered simply “It could help prepare for the future, it’s certainly… well, sort of helped me.” Now that he knew the answer for sure. “Definitely not! No offense, but considering what I’ve encountered here, I think I would rather not know what horrors maybe heading my way considering the rating system for my life has gone from ‘G for General Audiences’ to ‘PG-13’ with possible ‘R-Rated’ sequences! Plus...” Now this took a great deal of honesty on his part.“Plus I don’t think I want to find out about how certain characters might be considering how I reacted to them, and still feel towards them. I’d rather meet them again on my terms and hopefully for the better.” “Hey that’s cool, just an offer” Maze shrugged “Well if that’s that then I suppose it’s time I’ve been on my way. Don’t wanna wear out my welcome.” With that Maze walked ahead a bit summoning her box and twirling it about her hand. “Say goodbye to the others for me, and sorry if I messed with Trixie too much; we’re actually rather close back home and I just couldn’t resist.” “I gotcha. I suppose I would do something similar if I encountered alternates of my friends, too.” Ethan felt he should ask something about her payment, or try to think of a cool way to say goodbye, but there was one question that he had to ask before she left. “Say Maze…” He turned away from her gaze as he tried to formulate the question. “I noticed your wording of how you spent some time in your world. Over 1200 years, right? And you don’t look a day over 20, heh-heh....but I’ve seen what you can do. I also know what I can do...for the most part, as well as what I did to others here.” He was rambling, he knew it! But it was hard to put this question into proper words. “Look, I was never a saint, but be honest; In this story based on ponies, dragons, dogs, and who knows what else, are we...” He was shaking his helmet in his hands as he stared at the distorted reflection of himself on its surface. “Are we the villains? Is that what our role is as ‘Displaced’?” Maze sighed and considered her answer. “I’m not gonna lie to you Misty; most of that twelve hundred years I spent imprisoned and for good reason... let’s just say I’m pretty sure my sins are worse than yours. And yeah, some of the stories relayed to me were not positive, some downright terrifying” Maze admitted sadly, but then smiled “But then there are people like Sun, who helped me when I was on death’s door without a second thought. And who told me of countless others either doing good or just simply trying to get on with their lives. Or even trying to make up for past mistakes… like me.” She sighed again, only now a bit more contently. “I’d say we’re whatever we make of ourselves” Maze said before her grin grew a bit challenging “And to hell with whatever those displacer pricks have planned otherwise!” That lightened Ethan’s mood. “I guess you’re right. So I’ll just try to be better, and make up for my mistakes when I can then.” He looked back at his helmet, not as focused on the surface, but rather more determined to make Mysterio work on making up for his faults since coming here. From mind-wiping those mares, to making his subordinates believe him to be a sorcerer capable of greater feats than he could perform, he knew he would answer to them all in time. But not yet. “Anyways, I’d rather not make my last moment with someone who gets this whole ‘Displaced’ mess end on a downer note. Besides, I still owe you for a lot today!” Ethan then tilted his head at that. “Speaking of, how can I pay you back? I’d offer treasure, but sadly I left it in my other castle, believe it or not!” “Oh don’t worry” the cyborg smirked before twirling a handful of the illusionist’s impressive little holo-cubes about her fingers, the box open held above her head “I already got it! Call if you need me! Laters!” And with that Maze dropped the box, disappearing into it’s depths with nothing but an echoing laugh left behind. Ethan picked up the box, but as expected, there was nothing there. So he began to fold it up reverently and was amazingly able to get it down into the size of a playing card. The sliver of cardboard fit nicely in his suit’s pocket that suddenly appeared, to which he could only exhale halfheartedly and say, “Goodbyes are not forever, goodbyes are not the end. They simply mean, ‘I’ll miss you, until we meet again!’, right? Well, at least she was able to pull a fast one on me, being she’s that good.” He then smirked as he thought of the last trick he was able to pull on her before she left. “But then again, I did sneak one by her, too! So who’s the better at this game of sleight-of-hand, Masie?” [}0{] “” The Quidam asked his fellow displacer as the two watched Ethan return to his place of rest after Maze had left to return to her own tale, so to speak. "" “Oh it vent about az I expected it to; valuable data yes, not terribly surprising zough” the bespectacled man commented “Az she zaid; giant robots are kind of her M-O. Zough good for yours old boy! He’z got quite zhe interesting life ahead of him even more zo now zat he’z been initiated, no?” “” The Quidam seemed distracted as he was focused upon the crack that had cause some unexpected things to occur in an already unconventional situation. “” “Qui, I don’t even like directly interfering vith my own chargez. You zink I vould just drop something like zat into another’s I respected?” the Doktor returned flatly “Granted a few have slipped through my notice here and zere but no; zat vas not from vone of mine.” “” The Quidam remarked as he rubbed his nonexistent chin in thought. “” The Quidam gazed upon his current Displaced, as he was about ready to dream. Amazingly, he seemed to be sleeping well after the day he had. “” The Quidam laughed a bit, but even it came a bit hollow at the attempt of easing the mood of the room. After all, if Leopardon came upon the Displaced, then who's to say something of greater hostility wouldn’t follow? "" “And zank you for having us! And as much as I vould love to study zis unknown variable, like my charge, I must be going” the Doktor rose with a smile “Zank you again for zhe tea, and good luck.” The scientist gave a courteous nod and moved to the crack, mindful to not widen it any more when he stopped and turned again. “Oh and don’t be a stranger old boy, zhe otherz and I hardly ever zee you anymore.” “” The Quidam struck a pose with his hands to emphasize his lack of a head. “” “Fair enough” the Doktor smiled “Until next time Quidam.” And then he was gone. The Quidam stopped waving his goodbye. The Doktor was definitely right, it had been a long time since he had seen any of the others. Perhaps he should work on changing that? He had the best reason to do so with this current displaced of his. Speaking of which… “" The Displacer thought about his Displaced. “” [}0{] [TO BE CONTINUED...]